Friday, January 07, 2011

Coach's Corner "A Quick Look at The Race" by Brian Tramel

----A new Coach's Corner.

----In a week where I have been knee deep in working on Yearbook 2010, I just forgot that I actually promised a Coach’s Corner about this year’s nominees.And, here at the end of the week, with the race really hot in some awards and others already decided, I still wanted to throw in a few fun facts out there about them.

-Derrick King, who won no award last year, still dominates in nominations when it comes to three categories – Wrestler, MOTY and TV MOTY.King has been nominated in those categories every year.He is the only guy to hold that title for those three important awards and actually brought home five awards from those categories along with a MVP Team Award with partner Stan Lee.King will be the first guy to ever be nominated in the Top 3 of RRO Top 10 in all five years.

-Stan Lee is no stranger to the RRO Awards and is nominated for the 4th time as MVP Performer and ties Austin Lane [who for the first time was not nominated in that category] for most nominations in that category.Lee, as mentioned, along with King were 2008 MVP Team and MOTY.He is nominated again for MOTY in the last bout I seen live this year.Lee will come in ranked in the top five of 2010.

-Austin Lane, who has been ranked in the top eight of RRO Top 10 all years prior, will end up in the top five again this year no matter if he wins or loses an award.He got the nod all over the awards and established himself as just one of the solid guys in this business – being able to have GREAT matches with GREAT wrestlers and having GOOD matches with not so good.This seems to be the year that he should grace the front cover of the Yearbook,but he has competition from King and Greg Anthony.

-The Year of Gold??No one had ever won the Tag Team of the Year and MVP Tag team of the Year in at the same time until last year.This year, you have Greg Anthony placing in both the Wrestler and MVP awards and dropping completely out of the Tag division.Can he do something that someone has never done – win both of those awards??Or is this the year that Austin Lane finally wins it??No matter what happens, Anthony will be voted #1 wrestler in the area because he is the only one nominated in both categories.Anthony also won EVERY award he was nominated in last year; can he repeat that??

-Do the tag team awards have “Asylum” repeating what “Gold” did last year or “Picture Perfect”??“Asylum” take their 4th nomination in the history of the awards in team awards along with “PP” getting their 5th nod. They are nominated in both awards and I think “Gold” may have affected the actual perception of MVP Team.Nothing against either team, but that award is designed for the best “working” team.I think it is turned into the most “important” team and the regular Tag Team award recognizes THE team of the area.“Picture Perfect” repeated their performance from last year by being nominated in both categories this year, but they only tagged 3 TIMES in the Memphis area!!I believe their SAW work made them more visible and just the idea that this is a team that you would want on your shows if you wanted to push tag teams.

-“Hollywood” Jimmy Blaylock is easily THE manager in the area.He, along with King as mentioned, is the only other guy in RRO Awards history to have been nominated for the same award all FIVE years!Blaylock is a two time winner.Rashard Devon, who had been nominated for the last four years, did not return this year with two new entries against Blaylock.

-Eric Wayne is nominated for match again this year and if they win, it will be the only time the same two participates has won MOTY.If Wayne wins it this year, it will also go in the record books as the only guy to have participated in three MOTY award wins – winning the last three years.“Premiere Brutality” partner Kid Nikels as his opponent won the MOTY two years ago and they may as a team grab the MVP Team.Two of the hardest working guys in the area.

-Seth Knight is nominated this year for his first awards.I think the RCW TV show made it more apparent to fans/workers that Knight is really good worker that has not been mentioned in the awards.Everyone of his TV matches were top notch this year – doing exactly what he was suppose to do. Maxx Corbin will give him a run for it as he is easily the most underrated guy for an overall perspective of running shows, announcing, TV production and…well…he is a pretty damn good wrestler.

-Christian Jacobs returns in both tag team categories in a year that was dominated by his singles career.He gets nods in two TV matches also.I think people missed the boat in considering him Wrestler, MVP or Horizon.

-This is Cody Melton’s 2cnd time being nominated in Most Improved and deserves it this year.He has worked a lot of dates and has improved to be one of the top guys to use in the area.He has the dubious title of losing two awards in 2008 by a total of 4 points.Melton also got the nod in his participation of TV MOTY in a collection of good workers.

-If you take a look at the awards as a whole, you could see the influence of TV.If Memphis Wrestling or RCW would have stayed on TV all year long, these awards would have been probably cluttered with them.RCW got nods on TV matches, announcer and their top guys all getting looks.That happens when you have some of the best guys on your roster.Baxter, “Too Cruel”, Lee and Melton were the highlights of the Memphis show and got nods.

----That was my quick look at the awards and only time will tell who wins and who loses.Voting is open until the 10th.Please go and vote if you are not voted!! CLICK HERE